I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of filtered ventilation systems of an electronics enclosure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a panel having a removable filter element with an adjacent cover for the ventilation system of an electronics enclosure.
II. Description of the Related Art
Electronic devices, particularly computers, are commonly housed within an enclosure, such as a case or a cabinet. The electronic components contained therein often produce heat which must be removed so the electronic components can function properly. Often, ventilation devices are employed that use rotating fans to circulate air around the heat producing electronic components to carry away the heat.
There are many small dust particles and impurities in the air, some of which contain highly conductive materials. The build-up of a large quantity of accumulated conductive materials can lead to a breakdown of the computer or disk drive due to short-circuits. The accumulation of dust and impurities can also damage a reading head or diskette in a disk drive by dust-induced friction, and it can lead to an abnormal readout, inability to read, or even damage to the disk drive. Dust and impurities in the air have a great impact on computers and disk drives.
The commonly known ventilation methods use a fan to bring air inside the computer or disk drive. Usually, such a fan draws air into the case from all openings, exhausting the air at the location of the fan. This method quickens the rate at which dust and impurities in the air accumulate inside a computer or disk drive. The harmful effects may not be obvious when a computer is used only for a short period of time. However, after it has been used for some time, a layer of dust and impurities will accumulate on the disk drive or computer.
To resolve this problem, I described a disk drive within a cabinet, with a filter element structure in U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,036. This device has a front panel that is removable from a sub-panel of a cabinet. The sub-panel has two spacing blocks, one on each side of an air hole. A fan is adjacent the air hole on the opposite side of the sub-panel from the spacing blocks. The front edges of the spacing blocks are set such that they form a seal with an outer periphery of a filter unit. The front panel has two guides provided to receive the filter unit. Attached to the filter unit are two flexible fingers ending in retaining surfaces. When the filter unit is fully inserted into the guides, the filter unit is held in place by the retaining surfaces which extend under the bottom of the guides.